Monumento Natural da Pedra da Mua

Monumento Natural da Pedra da Mua is a dinosaur-track site on the cliffs of Cabo Espichel in the municipality of Sesimbra, Portugal. It lies inside the Arrábida Natural Park and covers around 5 hectares. The prints in its rock slabs were made well over a hundred million years ago, and they are among the most impressive tracks of their kind in the area.

What kind of place is it?

Pedra da Mua is a stretch of limestone coast where the footprints of prehistoric animals are preserved. The area is a protected natural monument. According to a municipal source, Pedra da Mua and the neighbouring Lagosteiros and Pedreira do Avelino sites have been protected since 1997.

What tracks can you see?

The limestone slabs hold tracks of theropods, bipedal predators, and sauropods, huge long-necked four-legged plant eaters. About 40 prints have been identified. They date to the Late Jurassic, roughly 145 million years ago. That age comes from a single source, so treat it as approximate.

Did the dinosaurs walk in herds?

The parallel trackways suggest so. They are read as the passage of a herd that included at least 7 small and 3 large sauropods. It is a rare chance to see not just a single print but a snapshot of group behaviour preserved in stone.

Where does the name and the mule legend come from?

Pedra da Mua means roughly "Rock of the Mule" in Portuguese. One of the prints is tied to a local legend about a giant mule that carried the Virgin up from sea level to the clifftop. The marks are not from a mule but from dinosaurs that lived long before humans. The legend shows how people have long tried to explain mysterious prints in the rock.

What else is nearby?

Next door is the Lagosteiros Natural Monument, on the north cliff of Lagosteiros beach, which also has dinosaur tracks. Both sites are part of the Arrábida Natural Park, so they combine easily into one trip around Cabo Espichel.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Pedra da Mua? On the cliffs of Cabo Espichel in Sesimbra, within the Arrábida Natural Park, Portugal.

How large is the site? About 5.08 hectares.

Which animals left the tracks? Theropods and sauropods from the Late Jurassic.

How many prints have been identified? Around 40.

Are the prints from a mule? No. The legend speaks of a mule, but the prints are from dinosaurs.

Since when is it protected? According to a municipal source, the sites in this area have been natural monuments since 1997.